Agents and Referrals

Myths and Truths

There are some folks that insist that an agent who refers home inspectors to their client may have a conflict of interest. The theory goes that a home inspector that does a thorough job may cause the client to walk away from the home and cause the agent to lose their commission for the sale, therefore the agent only refers inspectors that are not "deal killers".

While there may be some truth in that for some of them, I believe that the vast majority of real estate agents are honestly looking out for their client's interests (as well as their own interests by getting referrals from clients who are satisfied and pass their name to others looking to buy or sell a house.)

The job we do as home inspectors does reflect on the credibility of a referring real estate agent. If I do not show my client a major issue in the house, then he or she may not be happy once invested and may feel that their agent purposely led them to an inspector that doesn't do a good job. Will that agent refer the RE agent (or the home inspector) to anyone? Not likely.

I believe that most agents know the difference between an inspector who is thorough and communicates appropriately, and a true "deal killer" who conflates issues beyond their true importance and communicates in an incendiary or unnecessarily judgemental or suggestive manner.

My Pledge To You should you choose me as your home inspector is to do the best inspection I can, whether you found me on your own, were referred by a friend or relative, or referred by your trusted real estate agent.

Portland Home Inspect is a referral based business. I get many referrals from agents, and many from satisfied customers. But, when YOU hire me, I work for YOU and nobody else.